Apple, RIM didn’t infringe Kodak patents

Kodak’s hopes to parlay its patent portfolio into a get-out-of-Chapter-11 card have been dealt a blow, with a ruling that Apple and RIM haven’t infringed its digital image preview patents.

The patents have been subject of lawsuits in both directions: Apple has accused the moribund icon of “ransacking” its IP to secure the patents in the first place. That suit, however, is on hold during the Chapter 11 process.

In the latest blow to Kodak, US International Trade Commission judge Thomas Pender has said (PDF) that the Kodak patent in question, 6,292,218, hasn’t been violated. Furthermore, the judge has determined that claim 15 of that patent is invalid on the grounds of obviousness.

Claim 15 covered the ability of the camera to capture a still image at high resolution while previewing a moving image on the display at a lower resolution. Samsung and LG reached separate agreements with Kodak, and have together paid nearly $US1 billion for using the technology.

Kodak hopes to appeal the decision before the full six-member US International Trade Commission, according to Bloomberg. ®